ALMetro360 April 18

It happens in households across America on a daily basis. Someone opens the fridge, peers inside and declares there is absolutely nothing to eat. Then two days later a pile of rotten fruit, moldy cheese and expired condiments are discovered and dumped in the trash. While we don’t set out to waste the food we pick up at the local grocery store, Americans throw away more than a third of our food each year, between $1,365 and $2,275 worth of food. Studies have found the main reasons for this waste are confusion about expiration dates and because we can afford to. A 2015 study from John Hopkins found that people thought a leaky faucet or leaving lights on was more worrisome than throwing away food. And, a 2016 Ohio State University study showed that people thought food waste was a problem but were too busy with life to change their habits. Throwing away bad food is not just costing you money and wasting the food itself. The water and energy it took to produce the food and bring it to market are also going to waste. The im- pact of throwing away food is larger than you might think. A few ways you can help reduce food waste for Earth Day and year-round are: Buy Frozen If you are not sure if you will make a dish that calls for cer- tain produce, buy frozen instead of fresh. Studies have found that frozen can be just as nutritious as fresh, if not more be- cause the produce is frozen almost immediately after picking. Stop Using Fridge Drawers Out of sight, out of mind is often a primary cause of produce going to waste. If you forget you purchased fruits and veggies because they are buried in a drawer, switch it up. Put your pro- ducer in glass containers with paper towel to absorb moisture and store them on the fridge shelves instead. Use your drawers for something else! Meal Prep Instead of cooking throughout the week, do all your prep work on the weekend or on one weeknight and store your in- gredients in containers already sliced and diced for conven- ience. All your recipes will be pre-planned, so you are only buying what you need, not what you might use. Buy Loose Produce Buy your produce loose instead of in bags where you cannot really see what is inside. Open containers of fruit and do not be shy about swapping out pieces that are already moldy or looking rotten. If you do not, your entire purchase could be bad the day after you buy it. Divide and Conquer You might have thought that one of your fridge drawers was for fruits and one for veggies, but that is not actually how you { on the table } 10 RIVER REGION LIVING www.riverregionliving.com ReduceFoodWaste forEarthDay, SaveThousandsofDollars STAFF REPORT